This is a guest post by Katie Boone.
As a recent college graduate, I am asking myself the same question that everyone will face at least once: “Now what?”
Being a double major in English and Theatre raised many questions, such as “What on earth are you going to do with that?”, “Can you actually get a job with that?” or the kicker, “Better start rehearsing your ‘Do you want fries with that?’ speech.”
Via: Quick Meme
Having a degree in the Fine Arts can be difficult, but it is absolutely not impossible to find work with them. People have moved on to do great things with them, whether it be great feats of personal success or successful business ventures (the CEO of Ruth Chris’ Steakhouse was an English major). The real question is: How can you market your skills? Being an English and Theatre major has taught me many amazing lessons that I continue to market today and valuable skills that not everyone gets. Consider these three that I have taken with me wherever I go:
Public Speaking Skills
This one is key. My dad always used to tell me that the ability to speak in public is one of the most important things you can learn, and that everyone should be required to take a speech class. Now, I did not take any speech classes however, but being a theatre major meant I had to take Acting I (I was a dramaturgy major so this wasn’t exactly fun for me). But this was only the first step. I dabbled a little bit in journalism through the English program and had the opportunity to do live interviews. The amount something like that will improve your speaking skills is unbelievable. It is imperative that everyone involved in your career path can understand you. Having to ask “What?” every five minutes on the air is not impressive. Now I have the ability to effectively communicate with almost anyone in public settings, and that skill will help you most in a job interview, a terror all of us have to face at least once.
Being a Team Leader and a Team Player (and knowing the difference between the two)
In theatre, you are going to gain exposure to a lot of things you have never dealt with before. You may be very skilled in carpentry or electrics, but are completely lost in the costume studio. In every area, you are always part of team, which is a great dynamic. Sometimes you get to step up into a leadership position and guide others around you, and sometimes you are the one being guided. You get a unique opportunity to establish what your weaknesses are very early on, which is great when deciding which field you might like to get into or learn more about. But the area you have never been in before may become the love of your life in a very short time. Knowing when to be a leader and when to learn for yourself is a sign of maturity and a quality that all managers love to see.
Writing
The amount that people lack in this skill can be baffling sometimes. If you know how to write well, your skill can get you into any administrative office. Every career field faces writing in some form, and some people just don’t have the skill, which is where you come in! If you are a strong writer you can be hired by almost anyone to handle drafting, and that makes you a very valuable asset.
Via: Education News
While statistics say that employment falls more in favor of technical majors, people who pursue the sciences or engineering, many liberal and fine arts majors are more flexible because they are not tied to one specific career.
Specific fields can easily crash, especially in this economy. A study done by Georgetown University about college and the workforce says having some flexibility can be valuable in the long-term, but something even more significant which the study shows is how big a master’s degree plays a role. Out of all the successful arts majors (Governor Mitt Romney, CEO of PayPal Peter Theil, and FDIC Chair Shiela Blair to name a few), what they all have in common is a master’s degree. According to the Georgetown study, a graduate degree lowers the rate of unemployment to between 1.9%-4%, and a different study states that over 40% of Liberal Arts graduates go on to pursue advanced degrees.
Via: Mbaschools.com
Liberal and Fine Arts undergraduate careers teach you invaluable skills which lay groundwork for critical thinking and flexibility and as well as making you a great graduate school candidate. As a result, U.S Census data from this year reports that Liberal Arts master’s graduates will go on to earn $20,000 more per year over people with just an bachelor’s in a professional or pre-professional field.
So if you’re still looking for a major, don’t scoff at the Fine Arts. It can hold just as much promise, if not more, in this economy.
Featured Photo Courtesy of: Salon.com
